Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

James can feel the sweat running down his back, it is a hot afternoon in Los Angeles, but not nearly enough to justify the amount of sweating he’s doing. It’s the day of the most awaited show of his life, he managed to get up early to go backstage before the show and meet his favourite celebrities. He’s just as nervous as he was when he first met all of them, perhaps a little more due to now knowing what he was getting himself into.

The security inspected him before letting him in after seeing his ID and confirming he wasn’t bringing anything he shouldn’t. James speed walked to the door that would take him backstage. It had been almost an entire month without seeing them, and he ached for anything he could have even if it resulted in his heartbreaking again.

The first thing he sees when he opens the door is a bunch of people running around trying to get everything ready before the show, none of the boys are in his line of sight. He manages to take a deep breath, that is until Sirius Black steps into view, he looks like he should be stepping out of the stage and not working behind it all. He’s so famous for being hot and Regulus's brother that he’s got a fan page half as big as the boys, he posts videos without a shirt on while straddling a motorcycle so that’s not a surprise.

“James Potter,” he says in a booming voice. “The man of the hour.”

“Hi.” Sirius shakes his hand.

“I’m sorry about how we let off the last time I was trying to protect my boys. You know how it is in this industry, all types of crazy stalkers out there gutting for their blood, sweat and tears.”

“It’s all good,” he knew it wasn’t Sirius's fault, he was just doing his job and James appreciated that the band had someone so loyal and passionate about protecting them by their side at all times even if that had resulted in him leaving without a goodbye.

“Come on, I’ll take you to where the boys are.” Sirius accompanied him to the door with a hand on his back. 

James froze in front of it, he had no idea what their reactions would be. That is if they even knew he had been the one who was sorted. But if they didn’t then this meant this was an occurrence of fate and James was done believing in fate, he’d spent his entire life thinking that better things and people would suddenly appear in his life if they were destined to meet and change each other's life. 

And in a way it had happened, he’d met Remus and Lily in college, but no one had dropped out of the sky to swoop him off his feet no matter how much he believed he was destined to meet the love of his life exactly like his parents had during their college years. College had passed by in the blink of an eye and all the romance James had gotten was by being brutally rejected by Lily after he’d gotten drunk and convinced himself that since they got along so well it must mean they are soulmates. It hadn’t gone well for him and his friends still made fun of him to this day. 

“Are you getting in?” Sirius asked, a small grin on his lips as his eyes twinkled in amusement.

“Yeah, yeah.” James messed up his hair nervously.

“You’ve already done it once, can’t imagine why it would be more nerve-wracking now.”

James nodded without really listening. It was now or never. He opened the door.

Barty was pacing by the door, Regulus was sitting staring intensely at the door with a glare on his face, and Evan was by his side with an arm around him and a casual posture, he seemed like the only one slightly relaxed.

Regulus' gaze snapped to his as soon as he opened the door, James didn’t remember them being so cold. Well at least not by the end of it, he’d looked so soft when James left with his disarranged curls all over his face due to all the fingers that had run through it, including James’.

“Nervous for the show?” James tried to ask in a playful tone.

Barty stopped his pacing at once, tumultuous green eyes finally met his, there was a restless energy around him, like a bomb that was about to go off.

“Why didn’t you call?” is the first thing that came out of his mouth.

James splutters. “What?”

Barty advances with a raised finger. “Why the fuck didn’t you call?” he pokes his chest with it aggressively.

James tries to fight him off. “Ouch. You have bony fingers.”

“Answer the question,” he demands with a dangerous glint in his eyes. Barty looked even hotter like that, the dark eyeliner around his eyes accentuating his green sharp eyes.

“I… I didn’t have my phone.”

Regulus scoffs in disbelief.

“I mean it, Sirius took my phone to make sure I hadn't recorded anything.”

The others stood up after that, crowding him against the door like a pack of hungry wolves, even Evan looked hurt now. This was not what James was expecting, he wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting, but it definitely wasn’t this.

Regulus narrowed his eyes at him. “He didn’t tell us that.”

“Why would he? It’s his job, I’m sure he does it all the time.”

They levelled him for a while with penetrating looks as they tried to make sure he was being honest.

“You can ask him if you’d like.”

“It’s fine. At least that explains why you ignored our calls.” Evan said.

“You tried to call me?” James asked in wonderment. It hadn’t even occurred to him that they would also try to get in contact with him.

Barty scoffed. “You really think we were gonna let you go after you rocked our world?”

Evan elbowed him discreetly. “You sound like a serial killer, tone it down.”

Barty frowned at him. “I refuse.” he crossed his arms petulantly. “He can’t act like we can be ourselves around him then take it away and expect us to be alright with it.”

“I didn’t take anything away from you.” James frowned. What were they even talking about? If anyone had lost something there, it had been him.

Regulus scoffed. “We allowed ourselves to be vulnerable with you after meeting you once and then you disappeared off the face of the earth. I was just waiting for the article with all of our dirty secrets to come off.”

“I’d never do that.” James took a step back, hurt that they’d ever believe that.

“It’s what we wanted to believe,” Barty said.

“That the person you showed us was truly you and not some scheme to get our trust, but in the end, it just seemed like you did it all on purpose to get a new story,” Evan added.

“I… What? No.” James was so confused.

 “Besides I gave you Evan’s number on a shirt, you could have called from any phone,” Barty grumbled.

“My friend ruined it and I couldn’t see the numbers.” he tried to explain.

“You expect us to believe that?” Regulus scoffed in disbelief.

“Why wouldn’t I want to contact you? I thought this was the other way around.”

Evan frowned. “Why wouldn’t we want to call you?”

“Because I’m just a random fan you decided to fuck? I’m sure you do it all the time, it's not like…”

“Excuse me,” Regulus said in a primly voice. “What did you just say?”

James wasn't sure what had insulted him, but he had no intentions of repeating any part of it just to be safe. Not when it seemed like he already started this conversation putting his feet on his mouth.

“What gave you that idea?” Evan laughed. “We don’t go around shagging our fans. Sure we did when we were all over the tabloids after we reached eighteen, but it kinda lost its spark after a while.”

“I mean it’s not like our sex lives aren’t exciting enough by ourselves.” Barty winked at him. “As I’m sure you’ve gathered.”

“Yeah, I don’t think we’ve fucked anyone besides each other these last two years.” Regulus agreed to James' bewilderment.

“When we said we were in a relationship we meant an exclusive relationship.”

“Oh.” James paused. “Then why did you… ?” he couldn’t finish the sentence if he tried, his words getting stuck in his mouth.

“We’ve seen you around before, Evan and I thought you were hot as fuck and figured why not? It had been a while and you were interesting enough. Reg was against it at the beginning, but he came around after meeting you. I mean who wouldn’t?”

Oh . James was a little flattered to hear that. He’d never given too much thought to his appearance, no matter how good people usually told him he looked.

“That’s- that’s good to know,” he says lamely.

“Does this mean you weren’t avoiding us on purpose?” Evan makes sure.

“Why on earth would I want that? You’re all I ever dreamed of.”

Evan throws himself at him before James can register what’s going on, arms around his neck and a warm body closely pressed into his, he immediately relaxes in his hold, relieved that they weren’t pissed with him anymore. Evan smells like leather, the air just before it rains and mint. James feels someone else hugging him from behind. Barty smells like leather, smoke and mint. His and Evans' smells are always intertwined somehow as if by being so close to each other all of the time made their bodies start to blend in together, they’re the closest to becoming one being two people can get.

When Regulus joins them the whole atmosphere changes, like the missing piece of a puzzle. He brings warmth and comfort with him, making them all relax in the knowledge that they’re finally together again. Regulus smells like leather, the air after it rains and mint. Now James can see how he complements Evan and Barty perfectly. Regulus gives them structure and security in a way that they wouldn’t be able to find by themselves.

James can admit that the thought of the three of them as a couple is new to him after spending the last ten years of his life seeing them differently. Fortunately, he had a month to come to terms with it even if he didn’t spend them thinking about the technicalities of it, or how most of the things he saw and took at face value because of how they were shown in the media might have been different in reality.

So he spends the rest of the time with them asking as many questions in regards to their relationship as he can get away with, including questions about which rumours surrounding them were true and which were not.

“Okay I have a good one, Remus and I have a running bet on whether this is true so please say that it was.” he crosses his fingers, making them smile at him.

“Out with it.” Barry urged him.

“Is it true that you invaded your father’s house in the middle of the night and put a snake on his bed?”

They all cackled. “Oh, that was awesome.” Evan reminisced.

“I miss that day, the look on his face when he saw it.” Barty had a wicked glint in his eyes.

“And the screams,” Regulus added, even he had a sadistic little smile on his face.

“He squealed like a pig.”

“Can’t believe you weren’t arrested for that one,” James commented, remembering the way people had tried to paint Barty as an attempted murderer in the media.

“The snake wasn’t poisonous.” he defended himself. “I wish it was though.”

“Yeah, we had to convince him not to,” Regulus said.

“It took a lot of convincing if you know what I mean.” Evan winked at him and James felt warmth spread through his body. He never thought he’d get to have this experience again.

“Maybe I should try murdering people then.” he let out without thinking.

Barty laughed boisterously.

“Look what you did, now we have another one that’s prone to murder.”

“Tell me one person I murdered.” Barty challenged Regulus, one eyebrow-raising dangerously.

James hoped they weren’t about to say any names, even he had limits when it came to the things he could look past for them, or so he liked to believe.

“See you can’t.”

“Doesn’t mean you wouldn’t if you could get away with it.”

 “I’m rich and I’m famous, of course, I could get away with it.”

Evan laughed. “And you’re white.”

“Exactly.” Barty snapped his fingers in agreement. “I have all the requirements for getting away with murder.”

“James doesn’t.” Regulus pointed out. “So you should leave him out of your crazy plans.”

“Besides, it’s not like he needs to want to murder anyone for us to be willing to convince him,” Evan said suggestively.

James didn’t want to assume anything when it came to them and their expectations of him, especially because he’d seemed to have managed to get everything wrong twice, so he decided he was going to go with the flow and let them lead him until they were done with him which he hoped would take a while, even if just another day was already making him happier than ever. 

At the moment he didn’t care about the heartache he was bound to feel and didn't reminisce about the month he spent miserably moping around his flat. No. All that mattered now was that James was in their presence again and he would make sure to enjoy it the most he could until the flame was blown out.

“Got nothing to say to that, love?” Regulus teased him.

James was about to answer when the door opened and someone stepped inside to tell them it was time to go. He had almost forgotten that he was there to watch their show, too lost in the conversation to think about anything else. 

Just as they're about to leave, Barty turns to him with a serious look on his face making them all pause in the doorway.

“If this hadn't worked we were about to go to the Gryffindor building and storm in demanding to see you.”

James laughed. “It wouldn’t have done much good, I’ve been working from home ever since the interview happened.”

“He’s not kidding, I had to put some sense into their heads before we got a lawsuit on our hands.” Regulus pointed out.

That’s when the chips fall into place. “So you guys did make me win this to see me.” he realised, a smile growing on his face from the pleasant surprise.

“Nothing gets past you, uh.” Barty mocks as he laughs boisterously.

Regulus snorts as he confirms. “We did this so you’d sign in after we realised you didn’t air all of our dirty secrets.”

“Can’t believe we went to all this trouble and he didn’t even realise our amazing scheming skills.” Evan agreed.

“It was my idea.” Regulus' side eyed him.

“Let’s give credit where credit is due. I’m the one who said we-” Evan is interrupted by someone else walking by them.

“You’re in five.” The person quickly disappears, it seems like everyone around them is in a wind whirl while they have stopped in time merely enjoying each other’s company. 

“That’s our cue, love,” Regulus told him, he was back to his sweet and reserved smiles.

“Wish us luck.” 

“You don’t need it.”

Barty winks at him. “You know it.”

James follows behind them until they reach the stairs that will lead them to the stage, Sirius tells him he can watch the show from there or head to the VIP area in front of the stage, James decides to get the whole experience and watch the beginning of the show from the family space beside the stage and them later on join the VIP area since he’s supposed to enter the stage before the show is over.

He’d been so enthralled by their presence he’d forgotten about it until Sirius reminded him of it. James went as pale as a sheet, he could swear he could feel his pressure dropping by the second. There was no way he was ready to stand in front of thousands of people where they could record his humiliation and spread it around the world for everyone to see. James wondered how they managed it, he ought to have asked them for a few tips, he was sure that Barty would have been more than happy to provide since he was the one that was the most comfortable on the stage.

Watching them perform from up close was another worldly experience, James would never be able to describe it, but his glasses fogged up from the tears that he was shedding. He went to the VIP area in a stupor, he felt like he was walking on clouds, like this was still all a dream and he had never left his loft with only the memory of their touch remaining to torment his mind for the rest of his life.

By the time James reached the front row, they already started another song, one that he knew well, one of his favourite music. James is sure he told them that before, he especially loves how they perform this song. With Barty staying behind Regulus's back for most of it, both of them rocking in place as they sing closely together, mouths almost touching as they approach the mike. The public goes wild, especially after the allegations of the affair they’re supposedly having, this just instigates them further. It’s also probably why they’re doing it, shoving it in everyone’s faces that the band is not breaking up due to the gossip. It defeats all the purpose of James's exclusive interview, but he doesn’t even mind at the moment, not when he’s been given the privilege of seeing this from up close and hearing their lovely voices as well as Barty’s brilliant abilities on the electric guitar.

They call him on stage before the last song begins. “Now we’d like to welcome the lucky winner of our charity poll,” Barty announces sardonically, giggling when he says the word lucky, he struts down the stage until he reaches the front row, gaze never straying from James’s. “I present to you, James Potter.” 

Barty reaches a hand out to him, helping him get on stage from the front row. His warm palm manages to calm all of James’s nerves, that is until he starts taking him by the hand to where Regulus is standing. The sound is so much louder from here, he wonders how they manage to stand it as the stage shakes beneath their feet like heartbeats. 

“In honour of our special guest, we’ve decided to gift you with a new song we’ve been working on,” Regulus announces in the mike as they approach him. “It’s called R U Mine?” he presents it as a question, grey eyes never leaving James’s.

His breath catches in his chest and he almost stumbles, thankfully Barty keeps him upright, he’s lost his shirt somewhere along the show, exhibiting to all of the world his tattooed torso. Barty’s more on the leaner side, not as much as Regulus, but he doesn’t have nearly as many muscles as Evan who looks like he’s constantly in the gym, that doesn’t mean he’s not just as deliciously defined. The tattoos only added to his sex appeal, the fact that he’s so confident on stage and has a tendency to take his shirt off helps him gain popularity with the fans.

And with James, if he’s got to be honest, his parents had always made fun of him for it, what they hadn’t noticed is that he also watched them so avidly because of how ungodly attractive Evan looked behind the drums, his arms moving wildly as he played - the muscles straining from the strain - always throwing his head and body along with it. And how Regulus curls stuck to his forehead due to the sweat as he exerted himself playing, how he threw his head back and sometimes leaned it on Barty’s chest.

James just had the privilege of watching all of it from up close and now he was stepping on the same stage as them, by their side, as if he was their equal. It was a surreal feeling, especially when Regulus had basically just dedicated a song to him that sounded like a fucking love declaration. James might pass out at any point, he could feel his heartbeat in his throat as they started playing, the sound reverberating everywhere around him.

Oddly enough it felt like his heart was beating on the rhythm of the music, this had never happened to him before but in some way, it seemed fitting for the circumstances. James finally managed to deviate his eyes from them and look out the stage, thousands of people staring back at him, thankfully he could only see the few first, the rest looked like a bunch of tiny dots moving around. He suddenly wished he hadn’t worn his glasses, at least then he wouldn’t have been able to see anyone’s expressions and reactions towards what was happening on stage.

Barty keeps James glued to their sides as they start playing, James' whole body shivers when they turn and Regulus starts singing to him, his knees feel way too weak to support him and he doesn’t have Barty holding his hand anymore, he’s too busy playing the guitar by James' side. It’s another worldly experience. Everything he ever dreamed of and so much more.

And then Barty practically hugs him from behind as he plays with his arms around him like he usually does with Regulus, whispering the words close to his neck and ears as James does everything in his power to stop his body from trembling in his hold. Regulus, not being one to be outshined, steps closer to them, taking his mike out of its holder, and singing the words directly against James' mouth.  

The public might have been screaming, but James was so enthralled by the scene in front of him that he couldn’t hear anything but them. Time had stopped around him, no one existed in the world but James, Regulus, Barty and Evan. He felt like his soul might have stumbled out of his body for a few seconds there as Regulus asked him if James belonged to him while Barty’s mouth was firmly glued to his neck. Sucking and biting in a way that no one else could see but those on stage, for anyone else out there it would merely look like he was pressing his face against James's shoulder as he played.

Regulus had a smirk on his mouth every time he watched James' bewildered expression, he had to bite on his lower lip to stop himself from impulsively kissing one of them or both in front of a multitude of people, he’s sure their record label wouldn’t appreciate that. Except it didn’t help his case, because Regulus' eyes dropped to his lips, turning hooded with desire, the fact that Barty kept grinding against his ass only made him hotter.

James could see the appeal of taking his shirt off on stage, the bright lights made them even warmer, like the proximity to one another wasn’t enough. And then there were hands caressing his torso like they had been reading his mind. Along with the tempo of the music, the second Barty stopped playing and Regulus started, he made those precious seconds count and used his agile and strong hands to tear James’s white shirt out of his body.

The screams of the people around him turned into background noise, all James could hear was Barty’s heart beating against his own as Regulus played. Barty went back to the instrument like he hadn’t just messed with James' head at astronomical levels, Regulus seemed to appreciate what Barty had done, stepping even closer to him, making the three of them the closest they could get in public without getting arrested as he pressed a hand against James abdomen and sang to him. Regulus and Barty finished the song together, singing on the same mike with James pressed against the two of them.

James didn’t even hear them thanking the public, there was a buzz in his ears, and the whole moment felt surreal to him. He wanted to go back in time and tell everything to his sixteen-year-old self who spent hours of his day obsessing over these men (not that he was that different at twenty-six, now he merely managed to turn it into his living wage).

The moment the lights went off and they were left in complete darkness, Evan was the first one to kiss him, James hadn’t even realised when he stepped out from his drum kit. He pressed his mouth to his with a hunger that could only be rivalled by his own. “Fuck.” Evan swore against his lips. “It took everything in me not to come join you.”

And then James could feel another two body heats closing in on them, Barty wasted no time before grabbing Evan by the back of his neck and kissing him passionately, James would’ve liked to watch, but Regulus was already leaving open-mouthed kisses from his neck to his jaw, trying to find James mouth in the dark.

He got lost in the mess of limbs and lips around him, he was not sure how far they would’ve taken it if Sirius hadn’t pushed the curtain on the side of the stage to the side, the light illuminating his distressed features as he demanded. “Leave the stage before doing all of that, for fucks sake.”

They all laughed without a worry in the world before finally stepping out of it as they held hands. They were welcomed with two bottles of champagne being opened and practically downed on them, everyone who had helped make the show happen celebrating around them with food and booze. James felt like he’d just stepped into a parallel reality, but it didn’t take long for him to relax and dance around with Barty as he held a bottle of champagne. Evan and Regulus were sitting by the side, drinking a glass of wine as they stared at their moving bodies in unhidden appreciation.

Barty’s hands had a firm grip on his hips as James held his waist and pressed their bodies together to the rhythm of the music that was playing. Either throwing their heads back or leaning in close enough to kiss, but choosing to tease each other by sucking and biting on each other’s neck, jaw and earlobe.

It didn’t take long for Evan to stand up and grab Reg’s hand as he announced that they were out, Barty didn’t waste any time running after him, one hand around James’ wrist as if he was scared he might try to run away and another on a bottle of whiskey. They ran together around the place as they giggled amongst themselves, way too silly and drunk to speak properly. James was just happy to be in their presence, he didn’t even realise they were walking back to the room he had met them before the show until Barty was shoving him on the couch. “You’ve got a thing for couches, huh?” he stared heavy-lidded as Barty stepped out of his pants. Evan was already trailing kisses down Regulus' neck beside them as he used his hands to get rid of their shirts since they were the only ones who remained wearing one.  

“I didn’t hear you complaining last time.” Barty smiled wickedly at him as he took a swing out of the bottle. He looked good enough to eat. “Want a swing?”

James nodded, he didn’t even like whiskey, but maybe Barty would feed him from his own mouth, which would surely make it taste better. James crawled to him on all fours, stopping directly in front of his abdomen as he sat back on his knees, his eyes travelled all over his chest hungrily.

And then Barty pressed the bottle against it, letting the liquid run down his torso as James greedily came closer and licked it from his navel to his chest, swallowing the beverage as he sucked on his skin. Nothing had ever tasted as good as that. James could get drunk on him. 

Barty hissed in pleasure when James bit his side, he could hear groans coming from behind him and a moan he was certain had belonged to Regulus before Evan announced that they also wanted a taste.

James would rather die than blink when they drank champagne from each other’s abs, he quickly joined Regulus as he licked up Evan’s, sometimes kissing each other before going back to work him up, not one to miss out on the fun Barty made sure to take a swing before kissing Evan and letting the liquid dribble down his mouth.

James could only hope that somewhere amongst all the alcohol he would still be able to remember all of it tomorrow. He didn’t want to lose a second with them.

***

“Are we almost done?” Barty grumbled again, a few feet behind him as they ran on the sand.

“We’re almost there,” James assured him.

“You say that every day.”

“You’re the one who insists on accompanying me every day.”

“As if.” Barty scoffs. “You always convince me by promising morning shower sex.”

“Because it always works. Come on.” James only stops when they reach the rock formation he’d been dying to go to ever since he learned this was a private beach.

Barty collides with James's back with a huff as his breathing comes out laboured. “You’re killing me.”

“I’m helping keep you in shape.” he slapped him on the back good-naturedly.

Barty scoffed. “Thought you liked my shape the way it is.”

James helped him straighten up, caressing his hands over his shoulders and chest as he did so. “You know I do.”

Barty smirked, all attitude forgotten. “This is a pretty secluded place, isn’t it?” He looked around the rocks that surrounded them. They had a great view of the sea but it also made sure no one could see them from the outside, like a little cave out in the open (Of course, anyone could climb it like they had done, but surely they would hear them before they approached.)

“Finally caught on, did you?” James shoved him into the nearest wall of rocks.

Barty laughed when he collided, pulling James along with him with a strong grip. “This is why you’ve been insisting we come this far, huh?”

James grabbed his hair and used it to push his head back. “Only took you a week to realise.” he licked off the trail of sweat that was running down Barty’s jaw, making him shudder and moan when James bites his way down his neck.

Barty used his arm to bring James closer by his lower waist, making him tremble in his grasp when their bodies settled against each other. “Fuck.” and then Barty kissed him. All teeth and tongue. James forgot they were completely exposed as things progressed, entirely enchanted in Barty’s spell. 

“You gonna do something about that?” he asked as one of his hands grabbed James ass and pulled him even closer to him, opening his legs to allow him to move against his thigh.

James was about to push his hand inside Barty’s shorts when he heard a shrill scream coming from his back. They sprang apart quickly, trying to look like they hadn’t just been about to suck each other off, except when James looked around no one was there. 

“What the fuck?”

“Watch your step or you’re gonna fall.” Another voice said.

Oh. People were coming in their direction.

“Let’s bounce before they make it here,” James suggested.

Barty sighed but agreed. They were lucky that the people had been coming from the other side of where their house was, so they managed to leave before they were ever spotted.

“Can’t believe we came all this way for nothing.” Barty kicked the rock in frustration.

“First one who reaches home gets shower head.” James sings-song before taking off.

Barty cursed him but followed right behind. 

James had never seen him run so fast in his life.

He might have also let him win, after all, it would be for both of their pleasures.

***

Their sensual performance had been broadcasted everywhere bringing even more infamy to the band from the most conservative folks, their fans were eating it up though, all dreaming and hoping that one day they would be the ones having the privilege of stepping on stage with them. James might be a little jealous of that notion, but he knows there’s nothing he can do about it and at the moment he’s way too busy living all of his dreams as he’s having them in all the ways he wants in their secluded mansion. 

They’re sitting by the counter as they have breakfast, with a beautiful secluded view of the sea when Evan brings up what had been consuming James' thoughts.

“How come you never released our interview?” he’s resting his head lazily on Regulus’s shoulders, who looks like he’s a second away from sleeping on top of his coffee.

The only ones who had any energy in the mornings were Barty and James, Barty’s standing up on the other side of the counter as he eats, rocking his body from side to side to a beat that’s only playing on his head, his wet hair making droplets of water run down his neck due to the shower they just took after their morning run in the sand. James wanted to lick it off again, apparently, Evan was of the same mind, his eyes never leaving the trail of water.

James was delighted to finally have company for his runs, Remus would never wake up early and despised physical activities like they’d personally insulted him. Evan would accompany them sometimes when he was able to pry Regulus off him, he held them so firmly in his sleep they’d made a rule to never let him alone in bed without anything to leach himself to.

“I didn’t know if you guys would still allow me to publish it after how everything ended and Sirius made me sign an NDA, so…” he shrugged.

“Lily said you had written it, though,” Regulus commented behind his mug. They had met his friends when they came with him to grab a bag before going to their place, Barty had claimed that he didn’t trust him not to try to escape them if he was out of their sight. James had snorted, they had a twisted sense of reality if they thought he would ever try to escape them. They could turn out to be cannibal serial killers and all James would do was offer them his flesh, organs and bones. It’s not like they didn’t already own his heart.

“Yeah she convinced me to do it when I signed up and I was going to ask if you’d let me post it, but since you guys already did a whole show it’s not like there are still speculations whether the band is breaking up.”

“Oh, right. Sorry about that, love.”

James shrugged as he ate his pancakes. “It’s all good, Minerva likes me too much to fire me.” Sure he wouldn’t get fired, but he also would never be responsible for any important news again. James couldn’t care too much about it when he was living his best life.

“How would you feel announcing another piece of news for us, sunshine?” Barty asked with a glint in his eyes, James had learned to associate it with either danger or sex. Sometimes both if he was especially lucky.

“Whatcha got for me, hon?”

Barty used his fingers as drumsticks against the counter, a shit-eating grin on his face as he added suspense. “You can interview us about our relationship.”

James frowned. “What do you mean?”

“We’re telling the public we’re all dating, have been for a while.” Evan clarified.

“Oh. But what about the label?”

“Our contract is up, ten years, baby.” Barty clapped. “We’re free.”

“Sirius agreed to that?”

“Of course he did, he’s been fighting for us for years,” Regulus said.

James could feel his face splitting into a smile. “I’m so happy for you.” he hugged Evan and Regulus who were the closest to him, he knew Barty would waste no time in including himself, and none of them were shy about it when they were feeling neglected.

The atmosphere felt lighter after that, what had been plaguing James's mind had been solved and they would finally be able to live their truth, no more hiding and worrying if they were going to be seen together in a way that would compromise their public image and consequently their relationship with their bosses.

And yet there was a little part of him that ached to be included in that when they talked about their relationship. James had no idea what they were doing, but he didn’t dare question it the longer he stood in their place, especially because they never acted like they didn’t want him there. Quite the opposite, every time he tried to leave to meet up with his friends they insisted on coming with. James wasn’t sure if they were giving him mixed signals or if he was just delusional in thinking that maybe they wanted him to be a part of this as much as he desired. 

***

“Do you guys think Sirius would give me back my camera so that we can shoot the new interview?” James asked with his head propped up on Evan’s lap as they watched a movie.

“Barty didn’t tell you?” Regulus asked from where he was getting his scalp massaged as he lay on Barty’s bare chest.

“What? No, he didn’t.” James narrowed his eyes on him causing him to chuckle.

“He stole the camera to watch the footage.” Evan was the one who told him.

“You’re kidding, right?”

“Nope. I’ve got it here somewhere.”

James sat up immediately. “What’re you waiting for? Go grab it.” Barty couldn’t have scrambled out of the couch any faster. “Can’t believe we were watching this boring ass movie when we had gold on our hands.”

He came back panting holding a memory card in his hand like it was the Holy Grail. “How do we put this on the TV?”

James laughed. “Don’t you have the camera on you?”

“It’s in the room.” Barty shrugged.

“Well, we either connect the camera to the TV with a cable or put the hard drive on a converter to connect it to a computer and then use a cable to put in on the TV.” 

“Which one is easier?” Barty questioned in confusion.

“Just go grab the Camera, Barty,” Regulus demanded.

He huffed under his breath but took off running, his socked feet making him slide on the floor and almost stumble, not that it stopped him from going the fastest he could.

When they finally managed to put the recording on the TV, Evan had already grabbed some booze to accompany it.

“This looks like a badly shot porn.” Regulus deadpanned with a little sideway smirk, making them all laugh.

“I can see the title of it already,” Barty extended his hands like he was presenting a title. “A naive hot reporter is deceived into doing a sex tape with the sexiest band around.” he teased, causing Regulus to lean on him as he tried to hide his giggles on Barty’s shoulder.

“It’s not that bad, just go directly to the part where you start kissing,” James demanded, too embarrassed to think about his naivety.

“Oh, sweetheart.” Evan kissed his cheek. “They’re only teasing, there’s no way you could’ve known what we wanted.”

He turned to him to gauge whether he was also making fun of him, but Evan’s eyes were clear and sincere, a small smile on his face as he reassured him. James couldn’t contain his smile when he kissed him slowly and sweetly.

“I literally told him to take his shirt off when we told him to do an interview with us, how did that not clue him in?” Barty kept going, he wasn’t one to leave anything unfinished.

Regulus choked on his drink. “You told him to what?”

“I had to know what we were working with,” he defended himself as he took a swing straight out of the bottle.

James used the opportunity to shove him away from them. “You’re a pig.”

“Yeah,” Evan agreed, he loved to make fun of Barty. “I knew I wanted him the moment I saw his lovely eyes,” he bragged. 

James sniffed jokingly. “You just want me for my body,” laughter reverberated around the place as Barty threw his arms around him dramatically and held him strongly as he pretended to lament and regret his choices.

These moments were the ones James would miss the most. Sure the sex was amazing and unlike anything he’s ever dreamed of, but he loved being comfortable and silly with them just as much. 

That’s when they heard the sound of them kissing on video, all their gazes snapping to the TV immediately. Things progressed fairly quickly after that.

“Damn, I look hot as fuck.” Barty commented, making Evan roll his eyes.

“Why are you looking at yourself when you could see all of that ?” he tilted his head to the side in appreciation.

“Oh, come on, don’t pretend you aren’t also looking at yourself, you look amazing.”

Evan scoffed. “I’m not a bloody narcissist. Unlike you.”

They were all entranced in the scene in front of them, their breaths getting laboured the longer they watched their image on the TV, Barty was the first one to try to cop a feel, making Evan shudder by James' side. It didn’t take long for them to start recreating the images that had been presented to them.

When they were a mess of sweaty limbs half on top of each other, Barty said. “Fuck, can we do another sex tape? That shit’s hot as fuck.”

James's shoulders shook from his laughter, causing Evan and Barty to shake along with him, which consequently made Regulus almost fall from where he was perched on top of Evan. “That’s not advisable,” he grumbled. “Tapes like that get out all the time, it’s why Sirius wanted to destroy it.”

Barty shrugs. “We’d be doing a favour to humanity.”

Evan laughed. “They’d be the luckiest motherfuckers.”

“I didn’t take you two for exhibitionists.” 

Regulus laughed. “Oh, they love getting caught. Barty would fuck me on stage if it wouldn’t get us arrested.”

James shuddered. “I actually like the sound of that.”

“Us fucking on stage?” Evan smirked. “Is that one of your fantasies, sweetheart?”

James felt his face getting hot. “I mean you know how football players wanna do it on the field, right?”

Barty laughed. “But you’re not the musician here, sunshine.”

“What can I say? I’m your number one supporter.” 

“Bet I could have you on your knees on stage during the whole show.” Evan’s hands moved up James’ thighs.

“Don’t you use your legs to play?” James' breath hitched.

Evan shrugged, twisting his body so he was half hovering above him. “A sacrifice I’m willing to make.” 

James rose just enough to kiss him, his stomach twitching from the strain, the pain was worth it the second his lips touched Evan’s. Their bodies settled against each other once again as James whined against his mouth.

“Jesus, and you say I’m the sex addict,” Barty grumbled by their side.

Evan parted his mouth from his just enough to murmur. “You can always join us, love.”

Regulus scoffs. “He’s been working up my cock this entire time, you’re the ones who are behind.”

“He’s lying.” Barty raises his hands. “I’ve been keeping my hands to myself.”

Evan’s laughter reverberated against James’ chest. “Course you did.” he bit James' lip, sucking it into his mouth before letting it pop out of his mouth. “You’re lucky I’m way too busy to make you pay for it right now.” he started trailing kisses from James's neck to his chest.

Barty’s pout was interrupted by Regulus' scoff. “Come here you big baby.” the sound of his voice being replaced by kissing noises and low groans.

***

“How did you guys get together?” 

This time the interview took place at their home, they were all lazing around on the couch while James sat in front of them with the camera positioned at his side in their direction.

"Well, Barty and I started dating when we were sixteen." Regulus started. "It sent a shift in our friendship, but we couldn't figure out why. We used to do everything together, but suddenly Evan started pulling away from us."

"I wasn't pulling away from you," Evan remarked. "You guys were going on dates together and inviting me along, I didn't want to intrude." he defended himself.

"You weren't intruding, we wanted you there," Barty said firmly.

That made James laugh. No wonder they had all ended up dating.

"You can see why it started a lot of fights amongst us. Suddenly Evan didn't want to cuddle with me anymore saying it was disrespectful to my boyfriend." Barty said it like it was the most absurd thing in the world. "So I said we should ask Reggie what he thinks and he was totally okay with it. Not that it made Evan start acting normal."

"They just didn't understand the different boundaries of friendship and relationship," Evan told the camera.

"Because we never had any boundaries before, why should we have started then?" Barty never took his eyes off Evan.

"The tip of the iceberg was when Barty insisted it wasn't weird that we were all holding hands.” Regulus continued explaining like Barty wasn’t interrupting them. “And that's when someone at school asked us what it was like to date two guys at the same time.” he bit his lips to stop himself from laughing. “That’s when we realised."

Barty had no such qualms, laughing boisterously as he said. "I thought everyone was looking at us because we were popular but turns out people thought we all had been dating for years."

"That's when we realised that we kind of had been so we talked and thankfully it all worked out."

"And here we are,” Evan put his arm around both of them, squishing them against him adorably. “Been going strong for nine years, give or take."

“And the people Regulus was seen with? Was that all a lie? Or…” James left it for them to explain, they had planned this beforehand, how to clear everything up.

“All fabricated by the media,” Regulus affirmed. “We had to keep up appearances.”

They wrap up the interview shortly after that, heading up to their home studio while James works on editing the footage. He’s so behind on his schedule he could upload the video today and he’d still get a talk from Minerva about his tardiness, nonetheless he decides he’s going to deliver it as soon as possible, he’s been testing her patience ever since he got the job, his mother being friends with her isn’t going to save his skin forever.

He can’t help but wonder how different things would have been if he was older or if he had frequented the same private school as them. Would he have been a part of all of this? Would James be seated on the other side of the couch talking about their nine-year relationship? He would never know. Perhaps they had always been destined to meet this way, his mother did always tell him that not everyone was supposed to be forever. Sometimes you meet people who came to cause havoc - sometimes the kind that you’d enjoy, sometimes the kind that would bring you pain - they were destined to change your life upside down and perhaps teach you a lesson or two about life. But never to stay. 

She always said he should learn how to let people go, that trying to hold them hurt more than freeing them. James had agreed with her all his life, he had no desire to chain someone to himself, he only wanted love if it was freely given. And yet. When the time comes that he might have to accept the loss of something that feels far greater than himself, he can’t be sure that he’ll be able to.

He wants to chain himself to all of them, not because he thinks they are destined to be together, but because if they’re going to drown him in despair, James wants them all to sink in together.

He shakes himself the second he has the thought. Mentally scolding himself for it, he’s not that kind of person. He’s never been, his parents taught him better than that. Unfortunately, it’s something he has to keep reminding himself of, turns out being the bigger person isn’t that easy when you have your heart on the line. And there’s nothing James wouldn’t do when it comes to matters of the heart.

Once he’s done he sends the video to Sirius to make sure he approves, the last thing James wants is to be on his bad side, then he heads to the studio, hoping that he’ll still get to hear them playing some exclusive content. After all, there’s got to be some perks to banging your favourite musicians, besides the phenomenal sex of course.

He enters without knocking, hoping to hear something that he’s not supposed to, James is nosy by nature, and being surrounded by them just increases his curiosity tenfold. He wants to know everything there is to know about them. Maybe it’s the reporter in him or maybe it’s the die-hard fan. Perhaps it’s the small part of him that can admit that there are no more ways for him to save himself, James is already in too deep. He’s always been, after all, he’s been half in love with them ever since he was sixteen. There was never a way he was going to get out of this unscathed, his heart was always on the line. 

Like his life is a cruel joke from the universe, the first thing James hears when he steps into the studio is Regulus singing. “And I'll be yours until the stars fall from the sky. Yours until the rivers all run dry.” 

And then Barty on another verse. “And I'll be yours until the sun no longer shines. Yours until the poets run out of rhyme.”

At last, comes Evan, who barely even sings most of the time, and yet, now that James feels all his barely crafted walls crumbling, he sings. “Yours until the mountain crumbles to the sea. In other words, until eternity.”

What James wouldn’t do to have them sing these verses to him? To have it mean they felt about him the same way he felt about them. James could cry from hearing their voices spewing such lovely lyrics, they didn’t make a lot of love songs, and when they did Regulus was the only one who sang them, which was weird when you took into consideration the image they painted of him for years on the media. 

“Jamie,” Regulus exclaims in surprise. “We didn’t see you there.”

Barty almost yelped, taking a step back from the microphone and stumbling on the drum kit behind him like he’d been caught doing something that he shouldn't. 

“Hey.” James sniffled, hoping that his face didn’t convey his feelings.

“How long have you been there?” Evan wondered in a deeper voice than he usually spoke.

“Just got here.” James frowned. Why were they suddenly acting so weird?

“Oh.” Regulus relaxed against the wall. “That’s… that’s good.”

“What were you guys playing?” he inquired, maybe their answer would finally quell his hopes.

“Nothing you should concern your pretty little head over.” Evan was the first one to go back to acting minimally normal. “Why don’t we see your famous talents on the guitar?” He took the instrument out of Barty’s hand and gave it to James.

“Oh, no.” he tried to refuse. “I mean it, you do not want to hear me playing.”

“Come on, baby,” Regulus begged with big grey eyes, his mouth forming into a perfect pout. He looked adorable. James never thought he'd use that word to describe Regulus Black. “Play something for me.”

“This is unfair.” he looked at Barty who had a daring smirk on his face as he raised his eyebrows in challenge. Damn it. They all knew the best ways to get him to do exactly what they wanted. “It’s your ears that are gonna bleed out,” he warned.

“I’m sure you’re not that bad.” Evan laughed it off.

It didn’t take thirty seconds for him to change his mind.

“Oh, my god.” he twisted his face in displeasure as he covered his ears with his hands. “What is that?”

“Sounds like a porcupine dying,” Barty commented.

“How would you know how that sounds?” Regulus wrinkled his nose adorably.

“I don’t, but I’m sure it wouldn’t be far off.”

“I did try to warn you.”

“You know how moms are supposed to tell their sons they don’t suck at something?” Evan questioned out of nowhere.

“Yeah?”

“I’m really glad your mom was honest with you, hon.”

Barty almost fell off laughing. “Holy shit, Evan. That was brutal.”

“Oh, come on. Can you imagine if she told him he was any good? He would’ve tried playing at a school concert or something and people would throw shit at him.”

“It’s not that bad.” Regulus tried to reassure him, squeezing his shoulder. “I’m sure he could improve with a proper teacher.”

Evan scoffed in disbelief. “Are you offering?”

“I didn’t mean-”

“Oh, no. You have to teach him now, Reg.” Barty smiled like the predator that recently managed to catch the prey in its jaw. “Can’t give him hope and then take it away from him like that.”

“It’s like taking candy from kids.” Evan agreed.

Barty frowned. “You’re not supposed to do that?”

“What the fuck, Barty?”

“What? They could get a toothache, I’m pretty sure the first commandment is to not give candies to little kids. Besides, you can get in jail for that shit.”

“Shut the fuck up.” Evan shoved him as he chuckled. “For the love of God, every time I think you can’t say something worse somehow you always manage to surprise me.”

“It wasn’t that bad.” Regulus laughed. “Remember that time he-”

“Nope.” he opened the door. “I do not want to remember that time.”

“You’re probably not even talking about the same thing.” James felt the need to point it out. “I’m sure Barty has done a lot of things over the years.” he wished he could know them all, wish he could’ve been there to see it.

Evan snorted. “See, James knows what’s up.”

Barty rolled his eyes. “Come on, let’s do something else, I’m tired of being at the studio. We’ve been here enough to last us a lifetime.”

“You guys coming?”

“Nah, I think I’ll teach James how to play,” Regulus said to all of their surprises.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Barty grumbled.

“You’re the one who suggested it.”

“Not even if you were the best teacher in the world could you make him at least decent, Reg.”

“Is that a challenge?”

“Yeah, I think it is.”

“No, it isn’t.” James got in between them. “Seriously, I’ve had classes for years. I’ve given up already.”

“Then no pressure, I’ll just show you a few things.” Regulus smiled at him and he could swear his heart skipped a bit. “How about that?” he leaned on James's arm and hovered on raised feet as he tried to settle his chin on James's shoulder.

James took it as his cue and enveloped his hands around Regulus' face as he kissed him, swallowing up the gasp that left his lips. He was going to enjoy every opportunity he had to be the closest he could to any of them. 

“Fine,” Barty said primly. “We’ll find better ways to entertain ourselves.” he grabbed Evan’s sleeve who was chuckling as he said.

“Thank gosh the walls here are soundproof.” He made a cutting gesture on his throat with his hands. “Otherwise I might have to-” Then a gurgling sound as if he was choking on his blood.

“You’re the worst.” Regulus deadpanned.

“Not what you said last night, sweetheart.” Evan sing-song as they left.

Regulus rolled his eyes and turned back to him with a secret smile on his face. “Where were we?”

“You said you were gonna teach me how to play.”

Regulus raised an eyebrow. “Then learn you shall.” It took James a few minutes to realise that wasn’t what he’d been talking about, but by then James was too immersed in the lesson to say anything.

Regulus was clearly just using it as an excuse to hug James from behind and caress his arms as he showed him how to properly hold and play the accordions.

“I can also teach you how to play the drums if you’d like.” he offered cheekily.

“Oh, I didn’t know you knew how to-” James fell on the seat when Regulus pushed him, his eyebrows rising in disbelief. 

He was about to protest when Regulus straddled him, grabbing James arms and putting it around his hips, his hands instinctively squeezing Regulus' ass. “Gonna teach you how to play real good.”

James barely managed to sprout a humming agreement before Regulus' mouth was on his. They might have destroyed Evan’s equipment along the way, but Regulus swore it wasn’t even that expensive and that he was sure they would find a way to make it up to him.

***

When the interview comes to air they’re all safely tucked away in their private sanctuary. The internet goes wild, it’s the only thing people talk about for weeks, their ship name trending on Twitter and Tumblr every day. As many people claimed that they always knew and that it was fairly obvious as people said it was all a lie they invented to keep themselves famous and in the eyes of the public since their music is sub-par at best. 

They received so much support from their fans that Regulus cried a little, however, there were just as many hate messages from a few religious and political groups, as well as a few people who claimed themselves as fans but now refused to listen to their music due to their relationship. 

Apparently being a rock star and being gay didn't go well together for those people, they must have missed the memo that Barty and Evan had been dating all along, probably deluded themselves into believing it was just a very handsy and close friendship as a lot of famous males tended to have.

They were all forcibly forbidden from engaging in any sort of social media fight, Barty once again lost his phone privileges because no one trusted him to keep his cool if he read what a few people were saying, Evan was the one who read people’s reaction the most because he never got affected by it so he tended to share the nice ones with the others. Regulus also had to be prohibited from social media but for different reasons than Barty, he’d been found crying as he read hateful comments, he took their insults to heart, probably triggered by a few colourful words he had been hearing from home ever since he was a kid.

Thankfully they had a lot of support from each other and James who had been staying at their place ever since the show in a sort of surreal out-of-body experience where he wished he never had to go back to. But James knew his time was ending, he was supposed to meet with Minerva at Hogwarts on Monday morning. It would be the first time they would be apart after everything and he had no idea how to proceed. Should he go back to his apartment? Should he take his bag with him? Was this kind of a holiday retreat experience with a time limit? And if so, had they become tired of him already?

James had no way of knowing, but he had no intentions of overstaying his welcome so he decided he’d grab his bag and take his things with him Monday morning unless one of them protested, of course, he could never say no to them.

It becomes sort of a tradition during the weekends to roast marshmallows outside on Sundays, one James always loves to be a part of, his parents always had little traditions during the week and he always ached for that type of domesticity with someone. And now he had an entire month of experience living together with three of his favourite people on earth, and James savours it. If they wish for it, today might be his last day living with them, being the closest he’s ever been to another person, sharing the smallest and strangest parts of themselves in such a vulnerable way.   

They’re roasting marshmallows outside on a full moon when Regulus decides to bring his oldest guitar along with them to the sand. It had been a normal evening for them so far, full of jokes and teasing, along with the comfortable feeling of being with people who accepted and knew all of you. That is until Regulus says, “We’d like to play you something.”

“Oh.” James felt giddy. He loved it when they sang for him, it always felt special when he was the only audience.

“We wrote this a few days ago. We’re not the best when it comes to talking about our feelings, we just got used to making music about it over the years so I hope you understand.”

“Oh,” So it was that type of song.

They’d never done this before, no matter the fact that they were musicians, sure sometimes they hummed under their breaths while doing daily chores, but nothing planned or as specific as this. Nothing that they had composed for him. James could feel his hands start sweating, the unease and uncertainty filling him with dread as his heart rate increased.

Regulus started playing as Evan and Barty sang, only filling in the chorus when it was required of him.

James' breath was knocked out of him the moment he recognized the song. 

It was the one they had been rehearsing a few days prior. About love and belonging. And they were signing it to him. They had written it for him . His whole body froze, eyes wide running all over their faces to gauge whether they meant it. This was too good to be true.

Sure, James had been optimistic for most of his life, but this was too far-fetched even for his delusions. Except they looked so vulnerable singing to him, the flames casting shadows over their faces and illuminating them in a way that was as mysterious as it was hot. It made their expressions grave and sombre, perhaps a little uncertain as they spilt their hearts out.

A part of him wanted to believe it to be true, that his dreams might have actually come to fruition. He could almost see the life they’d have together, the four of them. This month felt like just a little glimpse into their future, but first, he had to be sure it would come true.

“Do you mean it?” he asks uncertainly the moment they stop playing.

“Of course, love,” Regulus reassured him as he extended his fingers to dry his tears. James hadn't even realised he’d been crying.

“I’ve wanted you since the first time I saw you,” Barty admitted just as tenderly, his eyes shining just as much as the rest of them.

“You feel like the missing piece we hadn’t even realised we were lacking,” Evan says.

James is throwing himself at them before he can even finish speaking, sniffling against their shoulder as they allow him to properly tie himself to them. Happiness in the air surrounds all of them and makes them giddy with joy. James wants to squeeze them and never let them go.

“I love you.” he chokes out. “I’ve been in love with you since I met you.”

“Believe me, we know.” Barty teased him, playing with his curls affectionately.

“And you had to wait all this time to say something?”

“We’re not that good with feelings as I’m sure you’ve noticed.” Evan pointed out.

“Eh.” James disagreed. “I think you’re perfect.”

“Only you would.” Regulus pecks him on the lips softly, being quickly followed by Barty and then Evan who smiles through it. They can’t keep the huge grins out of their faces. 

“I love you too by the way,” Evan says and James melts in his grip.

“Not bad with emotions now, are you?”

“I try,” he shrugged. “For you, I’ll always try.”

Barty wrinkled his nose. “That’s way too sweet for me, sorry.”

Regulus shoved him from their little circle.

“Oi.” he protested when they closed it without letting him in. “That doesn’t mean you can exclude me.”

“Only when you admit you love the mushy feelings.” Regulus jokes.

“I can’t.” Barty dramatically falls on them as his face twists in pain. “I physically can’t.”

“And you have the courage to say I’m the dramatic one.” Regulus huffs in annoyance.

“Come on, we’re leaving.” Evan grabbed Barty’s arm and started making a game of pulling him by the arm while he tried to free himself.

Regulus wrapped his arms around James’s neck the moment they turned their backs on them, his grey eyes studying his face carefully. “Hey.”

“Hello, love.” James enveloped his hands around Regulus’ waist, he could touch his fingers on his back.

“I do love you,” Regulus says like he wants to reassure him. “I’m not Barty, I’ve no problems admitting it.” he smiled sadly. “But it doesn’t come to me as easily as it might for you or Evan so I’m sorry if you ever feel like-”

James interrupts him by pressing his mouth to his, the taste of his tears still on his lips. “You should never have to apologise for it, I understand.” he pressed their foreheads together. “And don’t feel obliged to say it every time I do, because believe me it’s gonna be a lot.”

Regulus smiled, his eyes shining like the moon reflected on the dark sea. “Good thing I don’t think I’d ever be able to grow tired of hearing it.” 

“Hey, we heading in,” Evan called out to them. “You guys coming?” 

“Yep.” James followed them bringing Regulus along with him.

Barty threw his arm around James's shoulder the moment they reached him, an odd glint in his eyes when he leaned his head on James shoulder and whispered in his ear, warm breath tickling his skin and making him shudder, “I’m in love with you.”

James' breath audibly caught in his throat as he almost stumbled on the sand from the surprise. Barty leaned away with a wicked smile. “I hope you’re content with that cause it’s the only one you’re getting.” then he winked like the little shit that he was as he ran ahead to jump on Evan’s back almost making them fall, luckily Evan managed to put a hand around Barty’s thighs and keep them upright.

James' cheeks hurt from how much he smiled. This was the happiest he’d ever been, he couldn’t remember a moment in his life where he felt completely light on his feet, with no worries on his mind because nothing else mattered compared to this moment right here. 

The moment when he finally knew he would get to have the men he loved for his entire life.

***

In the end, it didn’t matter if Minerva was going to tear him a new one when he finally met with her in person after two months, James ended up quitting his job to officially work with the band. Not on top of the stages as he’d always dreamed as a kid, but taking care of the news they wanted to get out about them and how they shared it on different platforms, he’d become their media man, writing all their public speeches and texts. 

It made their life easier when it came to policing Barty, James was usually by his side when he was answering people on the phone now, either rejecting or approving his explosive first reactions. He was also fairly good at distracting him when his answer had enough expletive curse words to get him banned from Twitter.

The best part was that he got to travel with them when they went on tour, they travelled all around the United States and then later on around Europe and Latin America, which is where James enjoys himself the most, getting to know the places his parents talked so much about during his childhood and that he never got to come back to before this.

He especially enjoys getting to know the world with Barty, Regulus and Evan, the whole world looks brighter when they’re by his side, either holding him or just staying close because they need to be discreet with affection towards James where people can see them, after all, his relationship with them isn’t known to the public yet. 

Nonetheless, he’s happy that after nine years of hiding the three of them finally get to be themselves in public, Barty starts the tradition of kissing both of them on stage before starting the show making the public go wild around them. Of course, what no one knows is that he made a habit of always kissing James before entering, for good luck he always says. Considering every show ever since has been a hit, James has to agree with him, not that he would ever deny them anything they asked.

On a regular Sunday when they get back home after half a year of touring and they decide to roast marshmallows outside on the bonfire, James remembered vaguely that he once thought that if he was a compass then Evan, Barty and Regulus were his magnetic north. He supposed he had become one when he was sixteen, for the arrow of his heart had always pointed at them.